Attachments.
by Kiva
Summary: Someone not used to making connections, learns that sometimes it's okay to get attached. First season HL fic, repost. Please read/review:) Thank you.


Disclaimer: The characters aren't mine, and I don't lay claim to them....I heard rumblings of a certain character belonging to a certain clan, and I agree...Richie's safer there. Notes: This is written in response to the Bi Weekly Quote Challenge on HLGenfic [ I think]. The quote was:  
  
"Keeping the world at arm's length your entire life will just give you a long and lonely life, and tired arms." End Game by Peter David  
  
But I thought I'd put it here too. Please keep in mind that I've only seen season 5 and one season 1 episode. The rest I've learned from fan fiction. I've also never done this before, so if I screw it up, let me know. Oh, and I'm English, the show is American....so the spellings may be a mixture of the two. I originally posted this awhile back....The reason this is being posted again, is because of the mistakes I made in the first version. Feedback: I'd love to know what people think..at the time I authored this story, I'd been writing for two months, and hadn't actually done a HL fic before.  
  
*****  
  
Whistling a tune, Richie Ryan entered the antique shop. His day off was going quite well, but since Angie had to work at the shelter and their outing had been cut short, he had decided to go home and see if any help was needed. He had checked the apartment, and seeing neither MacLeod nor Tessa, had concluded that they must both be working.  
  
With no customers in the shop at present, Richie quickly spotted the Scot and his lover Tessa, apparently deep in conversation. As if sensing him, Duncan looked up, with Tessa following his gaze, and they both returned Richie's smile.  
  
The couple then exchanged a glance that had Richie confused. It seemed to signal that Richie had interrupted, and they would be resume this talk later. They separated, Tessa moving to stand behind the counter, and Duncan moving toward Richie. Shrugging off their strange behavior, he moved a little further into the shop.  
  
"Hey Richie," the immortal greeted. "I thought you had the day off. What are you doing here?" He walked past the teenager, who then turned, and followed.  
  
"Yeah, but Angie had to get to work, and I got kinda bored, so I thought I'd come and see if you guys needed any help or anything."  
  
They moved into the office. Duncan took a seat at the desk, while Richie stayed standing, shifting uncomfortably.  
  
Gathering his courage, Richie spoke up. "Hey Mac?"  
  
Immediately knowing that Richie was about to ask something, Duncan had to suppress a smile. As soon as he heard that tone of voice, he knew that something was on the teen's mind, and he decided to play along.  
  
"Yes Richie?" he dutifully inquired.  
  
When Richie started talking, it was in such a rush that Duncan had to take a minute to figure out what exactly he was asking for.  
  
"Er, I was just wondering.....I know today was my day off, but I was talking to Angie, and she wants to go somewhere together tomorrow, you know, 'cause it's my birthday, and we just found each other after a while, and I was hoping that I could get tomorrow off, too."  
  
As the words sank in, Duncan frowned. He took a deep breath, and tried to keep the look of disappointment from his face. The conversation that Richie's entrance had interrupted, had been about Tessa's plans for a special day and dinner, specifically to honour Richie's birthday.  
  
"Listen Rich, it's your birthday. But, Tessa and I were kind of hoping that you would spend the day with us tomorrow. We were going to take you somewhere..but, if you like, you can have tomorrow off."  
  
Richie looked slightly shocked, and strangely, also a little worried, and began pacing. After a minute of this, Duncan pointed to the other chair. "Richie, sit."  
  
As the teen moved to comply, MacLeod leaned forward in his seat, fixing him with a stern gaze.  
  
Richie shifted under the stare. "What?" he finally asked.  
  
The Scot sighed. "Richie....there's something that you're not telling me. And I'd like to know what it is."  
  
Richie frowned, folding his arms, clearly not planning on saying much. But after a few more minutes of Duncan MacLeod of the clan MacLeod's glare, the type that even full-fledged immortals shrank from, he decided to spill his story.  
  
"Well I made plans with Angie 'cause I didn't think you guys would be up for anything." He paused, biting his bottom lip. He seemed to be on the verge of adding something to his original statement, but was unwilling to risk it.  
  
Duncan sensed the hesitation, and something that he remembered from a conversation that had taken place a few weeks ago, now made sense.  
  
Duncan and Tessa had been seated on the couch, snuggling up to one another. Richie was slumped in a chair, seemingly oblivious to their conversation. Although Christmas was a while off, Tessa had always liked to be prepared, and they often discussed preparations months in advance. Tonight, they were talking about what type of tree to get, and what decorations to use. Halfway through the conversation, they had turned to Richie, and asked his opinion.  
  
"I don't know," he replied, "whatever. I've never really given much thought to Christmas."  
  
The couple shared a look, and Tessa asked why.  
  
"Cause," he said.  
  
Biting back a growl of frustration, Duncan asked, "'Because' what?"  
  
Richie rolled his eyes. "Because," he emphasised, "I've never really been into that. Most of the time, I wasn't around. Or wasn't around soon after. It seemed kinda pointless to get involved with stuff like that, if you were gonna be gone soon after."  
  
He quickly stood, declared he was tired, and bid them good night. The two had then spent time discussing Richie's little revelation. They finally decided that it was possible that Richie had decided that it was not a good idea to get attached to things like Christmas. And even more so to get attached to people. They had vowed to make this Christmas special, and hope that he would open up to them and become 'attached.'  
  
Pulling his mind to the present, Duncan decided to risk it. "It's not that, is it Richie? You didn't think we wouldn't be up for it...you hoped we wouldn't. Because then you wouldn't have to have a good time. You wouldn't have to become any closer to us than you already have." He stopped, noticing the sudden flush creeping up the teen's face.  
  
He sighed, waiting for Richie to respond.  
  
"I'm sorry Mac," he said finally. "How did you know?"  
  
The Scot stood, moving to the front of the desk, and leaning backwards onto it's edge.  
  
"Something you said...when we were talking about Christmas a while back." He took a deep breath, hoping that Richie would listen to him this time.  
  
"Richie, I know that you haven't had the best start. That maybe you decided that it was a good idea not to get too attached. But I'd like to share something with you. We're not going away. We want to get attached. I'm old enough to know that friendship is important. And you are our friend."  
  
As he watched the smile break out on the embarrassed teen's face, he remembered something that he'd read somewhere. "Keeping the world at arm's length your entire life, will just give you a long and lonely life, and tired arms." He didn't know who had said it, but he thought it applied to Richie. And maybe even to himself. While over the years he had overcome it somewhat with Tessa and others, he hoped that Richie would too.  
  
He was confused when the smile melted from Richie's face. "But Mac...I meant what I said about Angie, she wanted to do something tomorrow."  
  
The immortal stood, moving to put a hand on the teen's shoulder. An idea hit him.  
  
"Why don't you invite Angie along? I'm sure Tessa wouldn't mind."  
  
A sound turned their attention to the doorway.  
  
"You're right, " Tessa said, "She wouldn't."  
  
Moving to her lover, they embraced, and Richie rolled his eyes once more. Seeing their amused look, he smiled.  
  
"Well, since you guys don't need me, I'm gonna go see Angie at the shelter, and ask her if it's okay with her."  
  
He moved to the door, only to be stopped by MacLeod.  
  
"Richie? You asked if we needed any help. Well, a new shipment just came in, and if we want to go anywhere tomorrow, it needs unpacking today. You've been nominated."  
  
He had to struggle not to laugh at the expression on Richie's face, knowing that Tessa was battling with the urge to chuckle as well.  
  
"Fine," he said, moving off to his task. As he left, the other two heard him muttering under his breath. "Never, ever, ask if anyone needs help, Ryan."  
  
When they were sure he had gone, they both laughed out loud.  
  
They embraced once more, Tessa giving Duncan a lingering kiss.  
  
"What was that for?" he asked.  
  
She smiled, her accent light. "For the way you handled that situation Duncan."  
  
MacLeod smiled back. "How long were you there, and how much did you hear?"  
  
The French woman's grin grew wider. "I was there long enough, and I heard just enough."  
  
Their embrace grew tighter. As they were about to resume their kiss, they heard a slight crash, following by a steady stream of curses. Exchanging a look, MacLeod shouted, "Richie!"  
  
He moved off, to see what had happened this time, and left Tessa, who was still smiling, thanking God that she had become attached to these two.  
  
***** I'd really like to know what people think of my first attempt at HL fic. Thanks, Kiva :- 


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